Tuesday, 2 December 2014

The city of Sydney adores and glorifies it's diverse and wonderful chefs, but one name keeps rising to the surface.... Dan Hong. In an exclusive interview, The Food Dept's editor, Anne Marie Cummins, talks to the chef behind some of the coolest restaurants, Mrs G's, El Loco and Mr Wongs. The chef with the colourful collection of trainers, reveals the future trends in food and what he has learnt from entrepreneur, Justin Hemmes.

Your prawn toasts
were the only dish to sell out at the Good Food month’s Asia town, I missed
out, what’s your secret?

Asia town was great but my dish was so popular. We ran
out so quickly, everyone took multiple portions of mine at the beginning. I
can’t help it if my dish is the most popular, but it was fun, a great day and a
really good space.

With so many great
chefs at one venue, who inspired you most and what dish did you love the most?

I really enjoyed Ramen Ikkyu, chef, Harunobu Inukai was awesome.
I thought Chase
Kojima from Sokyo did an awesome Okonomiyaki. Obviously David
Thompson is the master, and his stir-fry was great with the fried egg. Anything
with a fried egg on top is delicious.

Your mum owned and
operated restaurants. What inspired you to be a chef, was there a moment when
you thought, I want to be a chef ?

There wasn’t a moment to be honest, I just didn’t know
what I wanted to do and my mum suggested I become a chef. I grew up around
restaurants, but I never thought of being a chef. I really enjoyed cooking at
home and my mum suggested I become a chef. My passion really came when I became
an apprentice, learning new things from chefs above me.

Which cooking
school did you attend?

The Hotel School at the Intercontinental, which doesn’t
run a cooking course any more. Usually apprentices go to Tafe once a week and
work full time. I was lucky to do school for 6 months full time. I did all my
theory first and then went and worked in restaurants. That’s how I came to work
in so many restaurants.

What inspires you when you are creating a
new recipe?

Everywhere, could
be going to another restaurant, eating street food overseas, eating on the
street in China town, or going to my mum’s house for dinner. I’m really
inspired by everything I eat.

Am I right in
thinking you spend your holidays in Asia looking out for new food experiences?

I go to Asia quite a bit, I go to Indonesia at least once
a year, as my wife is Indonesian and we visit her family. We are going to Hong
Kong in December. I went to China this year, that was really cool.

You have bridged the gap
between playing with food and making it look cool. Is that what you set out to
do?

Well no, I just wanted the book to be different. A lot of
cookbooks can be the same to be honest. I wanted mine to stand out, not only
with the material and the design, but also with the cover as well. So I hope it
does stand out.

Yes it does stand out. It
ties in well with the sneaker thing you have going on.

Yes it all ties together. I wanted it to be a fun book
for people to read, but also to actually try out the recipes. That’s why I have
those Hong hats, even though I think the recipes are quite simple, they can be
made simpler by reading those Hong hats.

What’s the weirdest flavour
combination in the book?

There’s
a dish that has pig’s ear and tripe, but that’s not really a weird combination.
There’s nothing too weird in the book because, I have tried all these weird
combinations at Mrs. G’s. And even though I might like them, the general public
don’t, so they don’t make it onto the menu.

So can you tell us what
weird flavour combination do you think tastes really great?

I
like blue cheese and chocolate together. One time I did a flourless chocolate
cake with blue cheese ice cream, I used gorgonzola and I thought it was
delicious. But it was a bit too weird.

It’s a dream for many chefs
to work with Justin Hemmes. What have you learnt from him?

That
he knows what diners in Sydney want. He has a midas touch when it comes to
knowing what people want and being ahead of the game in terms of restaurants,
style, atmosphere and vibe.

So you must know what
people want to eat?

I
don’t know what people want! I’m just lucky that people like my food.

The public has an
insatiable appetite for new food, new flavours. What trends do you see in the
near future?

I think Middle Eastern and Turkish cuisine are next. They
are popular now but the next step is to make an up market restaurant, with a
good wine list and great vibe.

What are you
craving right now?

A sandwich or a banh mi, (vietnamese pork roll.) See recipe below.

What did Kim and
Kanya order when they came to your restaurant?

They had chicken wings, a few dim sum, some pork
dumplings, chicken dumplings, pork ribs, fried rice. Kanya came twice, which
was pretty cool, I guess he liked the chicken wings!

Hang over cure?

Mc Donald’s breakfast.

What do you like
to cook at home?

I don’t cook at home. My wife cooks at home. But
sometimes I cook on the bbq. I like to let the produce speak for itself and cook
very simple things. Last time I cooked some wagu rump on the bbq with some nice
fat asparagus. I served the steak with wasabi mayonnaise.

Can you reveal any
secret foodie locations in Sydney?

Is anything secret anymore? Out in Western Sydney for
people who don’t go out West. Fairfield, Canley vale and Cabramatta have the most
authentic South East Asian food you can eat. I love going to Fairfield for Laotian
food. I think Laotian food is an untapped cuisine that people
don’t really know about. But you gotta love the funk to enjoy Laotian food. It’s
like Thai food, but with using things like fermented crab.

Biggest mistake?

Is always not remembering to taste as you cook. It’s something so
simple that can be the difference between a good and a great chef. As chefs, we
can often forget this, and it’s doesn’t matter how beautiful your dish looks,
it all comes down to the flavour. It’s the reason why people keep coming back
to your restaurant.See below for recipes from Mr Hong.

Dan Hong's cook book "Mr Hong" is available from Murdoch books. Go to the food dept facebook page for your chance to win a copy. Thank you to Murdoch books.

Whisk all of the seasoned cream ingredients together in a bowl until combined. Set aside in the fridge.6 cobs of corn, each one cut into three pieces2 limes, halved1 bunch coriander (cilantro), leaves only100 g (3½ oz) wedge of parmesan, for grating

Steam
or boil the pieces of corn until tender. Put on a hot chargrill pan or
barbecue and cook, turning three or four times, until the kernels are a
little bit charred. Remove from the grill and stab one end of each piece
of corn with a short cocktail skewer that has little handles.Liberally brush each piece of corn with the seasoned cream and arrange them on a platter.Squeeze some fresh lime juice over the top, making sure each piece of corn gets some.Scatter with coriander and then use a microplane to grate a liberal amount of parmesan over the top. Eat.For more delicious recipes try this

Fijian-Style Sashimi of TrevallyA
dish influenced by one of my best friends, fellow chef, Louis Tikaram.
Louis has a Fijian background and he once told me about one of Fiji’s
national dishes, called kokoda, which incorporates coconut milk into a
ceviche mix. This is my take on kokoda (pronounced kokonda), which
infuses some of my Vietnamese heritage into the dish. When I asked Louis
what he thought about me doing that, he said: ‘Sounds tasty.’ And
that’s what the food at Ms G’s is all about: tasty.Serves 2

The Rest 200 g (7 oz) piece of sashimi-grade trevally, skinnedand boned1 small long red chilli, thinly sliced4 cherry tomatoes, quartered70 g (2½ oz) young coconut flesh, cut into thin strips50 g (1¾ oz) salted cucumber (Essentials, page 241)15 coriander (cilantro) leaves1 red Asian shallot, thinly slicedSlice the trevally into thin strips. Transfer the fish to a bowl with the remaining ingredients.Spoon
about 100 ml (3½ fl oz) of the dressing over the fish and mix well.
Don’t worry if there looks like a lot of dressing, it starts to ‘cook’
the fish as you’re eating it, which is how it’s meant to be. Serve in
bowls and enjoy immediately. For more delicious recipes try this

Mini Pork Banh MiI
love banh mi – it’s food from my heritage and I wanted to put it on the
menu. We decided to make Ms G’s banh mi smaller so that diners could
fit in other dishes as well. In my eyes, banh mi is up there with the
most iconic sandwiches of the world. It’s the perfect balance of
richness, acidity, texture, freshness and spice. In short, everything
you could ever want in a sandwich.Serves 8The Pork 6 litres (210 fl oz/24 cups) Chinese masterstock (Essentials, page 234)1.5 kg (3 lb 5 oz) pork belly, rib bones removed, skin onPour
the masterstock into a stockpot and carefully add the pork belly. Bring
to the boil. As soon as it’s reached boiling point, turn the heat down
and simmer for 3–4 hours or until the pork belly is tender.Line a
roasting tin (large enough to fit the pork belly) with baking paper.
Carefully lift the pork belly from the stock, being mindful to keep
everything in one piece (not easy to do, since the pork is very soft at
this point).Put the pork in the tin, skin side down. Cover with another piece of baking paper then a baking tray.Weight the tray with heavy objects such as tins of tomatoes then leave it overnight (unrefrigerated) to press the pork belly.The Rest 1 loaf of chà lua (Vietnamese pork loaf)vegetable oil, for frying8 small, soft white rollsPork liver pâté (Essentials, page 243)6 salted cucumbers (Essentials, page 241)Pickled daikon and carrot (see Pickling liquid recipe, Essentials, page 241)1 bunch coriander (cilantro), leaves onlySriracha mayonnaise (Essentials, page 240)

Using
a meat slicer or a very sharp knife, slice the chà lua as thinly as
possible. Set aside. Cut the pork belly into pieces about 1.5 cm (5⁄8
inch) thick and about the same length as the rolls.Fill a large
heavy-based saucepan one-third full with oil and heat to 170°C (325°F)
or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil turns golden in 20
seconds. Carefully drop in the pork belly pieces and fry until golden.
Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.Cut the white
rolls in half. Spread the bases generously with pork liver pâté. Top
with a few slices of chà lua, then add the fried pork, followed in order
by the salted cucumbers, pickled daikons and carrots, a few coriander
leaves, and, finally,HONG HACK This
dish is meant to be fun and to be shared, so make it your own. If
you’re stuck for time, a side of roasted pork from your favourite
Chinese BBQ restaurant will work fine.For some more pork

Lotus Ice Cream Sundae with Raspberries and Honeycomb

This dish
became my signature dessert when I was at Lotus and it had a loyal and devoted
following. At the time, everyone in Sydney was trying really hard to do
something molecular and Alex Stupak-esque with desserts. While I admired the
American chef’s inventive creations, I wanted to do something fun and tasty
with real texture, and something my customers could relate to.
Serves 6

Fill a large
saucepan with 390 ml (13½ fl oz) water.
Add the sugar, glucose, cocoa powder and 1 teaspoon salt and heat over a high
heat. Bring to the boil, then add the chocolate and butter. Reduce the heat to
a simmer and cook until the chocolate and butter melt. Whisk to combine and
then bring back up to the boil. Using a hand-held blender, mix in the xanthan
gum, which will thicken the fudge.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then transfer the fudge into a covered
container and put in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Line a small baking tray with baking paper. To make the caramel, add the sugar,
honey, liquid glucose and 1½ tablespoons water to a small saucepan and put over
a high heat. Resist the urge to stir, just allow the heat to begin to transform
the sugar. If crystals start to appear, you can give the saucepan a little
swirl, or use a wet pastry brush to brush down the side of the pan.
Once a light caramel is achieved (about 155°C/310°F on a sugar thermometer),
quickly
whisk in the bicarbonate of soda, then immediately pour the mixture onto the
prepared tray. Leave to cool at room temperature until it hardens. Break the
honeycomb into smaller pieces and store in an airtight container. Do not
refrigerate, as the sugars will melt and soften the honeycomb.

Add the raspberries and sugar to a small saucepan and cook over a medium heat,
stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes or until a semi-thick consistency
is achieved. You don’t want to cook the sauce too long as this will create jam;
there should still be a little freshness about it.

Warm the
chocolate fudge in a microwave until hot.
Spoon some raspberry sauce into each of six serving bowls. Add 2 scoops of
vanilla ice cream and top with some shards of honeycomb, raspberries and
peanuts. Serve the chocolate fudge in a jug on the side so everyone

GOOD LUCK WITH THE COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY and may the most happy and derserving person win!The competition is open to all Australian residents. Competition closes midnight Wednesday 24th December 2014 with a winner selected at Random
and announced on Facebook (or Emailed via the Blog) 31st
December 2014.

Saturday, 22 November 2014

Summer is the time to entertain. Want to do something different and easy on your bbq this weekend? Buy the best quality rib eye you can find, light the bbbq and get grilling. We have an easy salsa verde, which you can make ahead to serve with your steak.

Friday, 7 November 2014

We have revised some of our recipes for the wonderful people at Vics Meat Market. Our new recipes are
shorter and more concise, which is great for all of you.
This rich pork belly recipe has been tested several times, by different friends, so we know it works. Whilst it seems like a long recipe, it's all about leaving it in the fridge overnight. Simply start the day before you
would like to serve the dish. On the following day, put it in the oven 2 hours before your meal and
voila, your meal is ready.

Pork Belly with Caramel Sauce

Crunchy and crispy
on the outside, succulent and juicy in the centre. The food dept.'s pork belly recipe is
worth every second of the cooking involved in this recipe. Prep time: 24 hours Cook time: 2 hours Serves:
4-6 people

1 Rub the pork belly rind with 2 teaspoons
salt flakes and place on a tray, refrigerate uncovered overnight to dry rind.
The next day, pat rind dry and brush of any remaining salt.

2 Preheat oven 200C. Crush white
peppercorns in a mortar and pestle, mix through Chinese five spice and 1
tablespoon salt flakes.3 Rub pork rind well with the salt mixture
and sesame oil, place rind side down in a baking dish and bake for 1 hour. Turn
pork over, reduce to 180C and cook for another 1 hour or until tender.

4 While pork is cooking, combine coconut
sugar and water in a saucepan, stir over medium heat until dissolved. Bring to
boil, add star anise, ginger, chilli, soy, fish sauce and lime juice and simmer
for 10 minutes or until syrupy.

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Combine butter and sugar in a bowl. Using electric beaters, beat until thick and pale. Add vanilla and egg, then beat until combined.2. Sift together the flour and bicarbonate of soda. Add the flour mixture, oats andmacadamia nuts to the creamed butter and sugar, and stir to combine.3. Line 2 baking tray with baking paper and place tablespoonfuls of mixture on the trays, flattening to 1/2 cm thick.4. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Allow to cool on trays.5. To serve, sandwich the ice cream between the biscuits. Serve immediatelyor keep in the freezer.

Homemade Lemonade Fruit Icey Pops How good is a homemade iceblock in the peak of summer? There is nothing like it. You will need eight 1/3 cup (80ml) ice block moulds for this recipe.Makes 8

• 1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar• 1/2 cup (125ml) lemon juice•
11/2 cups roughly chopped tropical fruit (cut to fit your moulds – such
as papaya, pineapple, mango, star fruit, lychee, kiwifruit and
passionfruit)1.Combine
the sugar and 1 cup (250ml) water in a saucepan over low heat, stirring
until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and set aside to
cool.2.Once cooled, add the lemon juice.3.Divide
the fruit among the ice block moulds, pressing the cut surfaces against
the sides. Pour over the homemade lemonade, then cover and place in the
freezer for at least 6 hours or overnight until frozen and set.4. Remove the ice blocks from the moulds to serve. White Chocolate Eclairs Makes 16

1. To
make the passionfruit custard, place milk and vanilla pod and seeds in a
saucepan over low heat and bring to a simmer. Combine the egg yolks,
sugar and 1/4 cup (35g) flour in a bowl and whisk until light and
creamy. Discard the vanilla pod and gradually pour the hot milk mixture
into the egg mixture, whisking constantly until combined.2. Return custard to the saucepan over low heat and cook, whisking constantly, for 8-10 minutes until thickened.3. Transfer to a bowl, cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin formingand chill for 2-3 hours.4. Preheat
oven to 230°C. Place butter and 3/4 cup (185ml) water in a saucepan
over medium heat until the butter has melted. Bring to the boil. Add the
remaining 3/4 cup (110g) flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon
for 2-3 minutes until the mixture forms a smooth ball. Set dough aside
to cool slightly.5. Place dough in a large bowl, add beaten egg, a little at a time, beating well withelectric
beaters after each addition until smooth. Spoon into a piping bag
fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe sixteen 8cm lengths onto a
baking paper-linedbaking tray.6. Sprinkle eclairs with water and bake for 7 minutes. Reduce oven to 180°Cand
cook for a further 20-25 minutes until golden. Pierce one short side of
each eclair with a skewer and set aside to dry and cool.7. Remove
custard from fridge, fold through the passionfruit pulp and return to
fridge for 1 hour to set. Place custard in a piping bag fitted with a
plain 1cm nozzle. Pipe custard into the holes in the eclairs.8. To
make the passionfruit icing, combine the icing sugar and passionfruit
juice in a bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon into a piping bag fitted
with a fine nozzle and set aside.9. Combine the white chocolate and oil in a bowl, and stir until smooth.10. Dip the top of each eclair into the white chocolate and place on a sheet of bakingpaper. Drizzle the passionfruit icing, back and forth across the eclairs, then run abamboo skewer up and down the length of the eclairs to create a marbling effect.10. Allow the icing to set, then serve.

Fruit skewers with Coconut Cream and Gingersnap Crumbs Choose your favourite fruit combo for this recipe – select varieties with contrasting colours and flavours. To make things interesting we have created a coconut cream and a gingersnap crumb for texture and crunch.Serves 4

1. Soak 12 wooden skewers in water for 15 minutes.2. Combine
thickened cream, coconut cream and 1 tsp coconut sugar in a bowl and
whisk until the cream has thickened. Chill until ready to serve.3. Whiz the biscuits in a food processor until fine crumbs, then set aside until ready to serve.4. Slice
the fruit into equal-sized pieces and thread onto skewers. Place the
skewers on a baking tray lined with foil and sprinkle the fruit with
half the remaining coconut sugar.5. Using
a blowtorch, brulee the fruit until the sugar has melted and
caramelised. (Alternatively, place skewers under a hot grill, turning,
for 4 minutes or until caramelised.)6. Sprinkle the remaining coconut sugar over the fruit and brulee again until a deep golden colour.7. Serve skewers immediately with coconut cream and gingersnap crumbs.

the food dept. fact:Coconut
sugar is extracted from the bud of a coconut palm and has a caramel
flavour. It's available from supermarkets and health food shops;
substitute brown sugar.

1. Soak the rice in cold water overnight.2. Drain and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear.Combine
the rice, 3 cups (370ml) water, pandan leaves and a pinch of salt in a
large saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. Simmer for 35
minutes or until the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender.3. Remove from the heat, cover and leave to steam for a further 15 minutes. Discard the pandan leaves.4.
Combine the palm sugar and 1/3 cup (80ml) boiling water in a heatproof
bowl and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Stir three quarters of the
palm sugar syrup through the rice, reserving the remaining to serve.
Cover the rice to keep warm.5. Cut the cheeks from the mangoes and sprinkle with chilli and extra palm sugar.6. Drizzle the rice with coconut cream and remaining palm sugar syrup, then serve with mango cheeks.

the food dept fact:Black sticky (glutinous rice) and pandan leaves
are available from Asian grocers.This story was originally published in ABC delicious magazine, February 2014.

1. Preheat oven to
100C (200F). Sift the corn flour and cocoa together and set aside.

2. Place the egg
whites, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat until
soft peaks. Gradually add the caster sugar, a little at a time, until stiff
peaks form and sugar has dissolved.

3. Using a spatula
gently fold the sifted corn flour and cocoa through the egg whites until just
combined.

5. Return any of
the meringue from the piping bag to the remaining chocolate meringue mixture in
the bowl, set aside the piping bag (there’s no need to wash it). Gently fold
through the hazelnut meal and place back into the piping bag.

6. Draw 4 x 19cm
discs on lined oven trays. Starting in the center pipe outwards in a spiral,
repeat 3 times to create 4 discs. Bake the discs and lengths for 2 hours. Turn
off the oven and allow the meringues to cool in the oven.

7. To assemble the
cake, attach the bottom layer of the cake to a platter with some Chocolate mousse.
Place 1 cup of the mousse on the disc and smooth out with a palate knife. Repeat
with the remaining mousse and meringue until you have 4 layers. Coat the entire
cake with the remaining mousse.

8. Break up the
meringue lengths, none shorter than the height of the cake. Sprinkle with extra
cocoa and arrange around the side of the cake.

9. Refrigerate for
at least 2 hours to set the mousse.

Chocolate
mousse

• 250g 70% cocoa
chocolate

• 125g unsalted
butter, at room temperature, diced

• 4 egg yolks

• 6 eggs whites,
at room temperature

• pinch of salt

• 1 teaspoon
cream of tartar

• ¼ cup caster
sugar

1. To make the
chocolate mousse place the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and gently
stir until melted.Remove the bowl from
the heat and gently mix the butter through the chocolate a few pieces at a time
until it is incorporated.

2. Add the egg
yolks one at a time and mix well.

3. Place the egg
whites, salt and cream of tarter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat
until soft peaks form. Gradually add the caster sugar and beat until stiff
peaks form and sugar has dissolved.

4. Using a
spatula, gently fold the meringue through the chocolate mixture a 1/3 at a
time. Use as required.

Chocolate Hazelnut Pavlova Bark

This is a
variation of TFD’S Hazelnut Concorde cake.A great dessert to put in the middle of the table and share with friends
this Easter.

Serves 8-10

• 1 tablespoon
corn flour

• 2 tablespoons
Dutch cocoa

• 5 egg whites,
at room temperature

• a pinch salt

• ½ teaspoon
cream of tartar

• 1 ¼ cups caster
sugar

• ¼ cup hazelnut
meal

• 1 qty chocolate
mousse

• 1 x 300ml
double cream, lightly whipped

• ½ cup roughly
chopped, roasted hazelnuts

1. Preheat oven to
100C (200F). Sift the corn flour and cocoa together and set aside.

2. Place the egg
whites, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer, beat until
soft peaks. Gradually add the caster sugar, a little at a time, until stiff
peaks form and sugar has dissolved.

3. Using a spatula
gently fold the sifted corn flour and cocoa through the egg whites until just
combined.

4. Using a palate
knife spread the meringue into a rectangle 30cm x 40cm on a lined baking tray
and sprinkle with the hazelnut meal. Bake for 2 hours. Turn off the oven and allow
to cool in the oven.

5. To assemble
gently place the meringue onto a large serving board and spread with the
chocolate mousse, double cream and roughly chopped hazelnuts.

Serve in the
center of the table with a pile of spoons.

Chocolate
mousse

• 125g 70% cocoa
chocolate

• 75g unsalted
butter, at room temperature, diced

• 2 egg yolks

• 3 egg whites

• a pinch salt

• ½ teaspoon
cream of tartar

• 2 tablespoons
caster sugar

1. To make the
chocolate mousse, place the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water and gently
stir until melted.Remove the bowl from
the heat and gently mix the butter through the chocolate a few pieces at a time
until it is incorporated.

2. Add the egg
yolks one at a time and mix well.

3. Place the egg
whites, salt and cream of tarter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat
until soft peaks form. Gradually add the caster sugar and beat until stiff
peaks form and sugar has dissolved.

4. Using a
spatula, gently fold the meringue through the chocolate mixture a 1/3 at a
time. Use as required.

A variation of
TFD’s Concord cake and Chocolate hazelnut bark this makes another yummy dessert.

• Use the
Chocolate hazelnut pavlova bark quantities for this recipe. Place
tablespoonsful of the chocolate meringue onto baking trays, sprinkle with
hazelnut meal and bake as you would the pavlova bark. Then, set little pots of
mousse in the refrigerator. Once set, top them with fresh raspberries and serve
with choc, hazelnut meringues bites.

Saturday, 22 March 2014

Times flies when your's having fun, and that's what we have been doing for the past 2 years. We hope you have been having just as much fun, cooking and eating our yummy recipes. To celebrate our 2nd birthday, we are sharing with you this decadent tropical hummingbird cake. Each moist layer of cake is filled with sweet cream cheese icing, then we top it with the crunch of toffee pecans. Enough said, we need to go and pop some French and start the party.

Toffee
pecans• 1
cup (220g) raw caster sugar• 1
cup (140g) pecans1. Preheat
oven to 100°C. Cut 10 x 2mm-thick slices from the pineapple. Arrange in
a single layer on a baking paper-lined baking tray and bake for 1 hour. Turn
slices over and return to oven for a further 1 hour or until pineapple is dry.
Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool.2. Core
the remaining piece of pineapple and roughly chop. Use a food processor to whiz
the pineapple until just crushed. You will need about 250g crushed pineapple
for the cake.3. Grease
and line two 20cm round cake pans and increase the oven to 180ºC. Using
electric beaters, beat butter and sugar together until combined. Add the vanilla
and eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the crushed pineapple,
banana, coconut and pecans, then stir to combine. Add flour, cinnamon and a
pinch of salt, then stir to combine.4. Divide
the mixture between the cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes until a skewer
inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow cakes to stand in the pans for
15 minutes to cool slightly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.5. To
make the icing, place the cream cheese, butter and half the icing sugar in a
bowl and beat with electric beaters for 5 minutes. Add the remaining icing sugar
and beat for a further 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Chill until needed.6. To
make the toffee pecans, combine the sugar with 1/4 cup (60ml) water in a small saucepan
over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook, without
stirring, for 10 minutes or until golden. Using a skewer, dip each pecan into
the toffee. Drain off excess toffee and place the pecans on a baking
paper-lined baking tray and allow to set.7. To
assemble, secure one cake to a serving plate with a little icing. Spread 1 cup
icing on the cake, then top with the second cake. Spread remaining icing over the
top and sides of the cake. Decorate with dried pineapple and toffee pecans.

This recipe was first published in the February issue of ABC delicious magazine. Recipe: Sally Courtney.